Psychological subtypes of anorgasmia: A marker variable approach

Seventy-six women who presented with a principal complaint of anorgasmia were compared with a matched cohort of sexually functional controls on the domains of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). Patients were case matched with controls on age, race, marital status, and social class. Initial comparisons revealed significant differences between patient and control groups on a number of psychosexual characteristics, consistent with prior research. Based on evidence of heterogeneity within the patient sample and earlier research by our group, the anorgasmic cohort was partitioned by a “marker variable” approach into two anorgasmic subtypes. The marker variable used to create the subtypes was the presence of homosexual fantasies. Subsequent contrasts, both between the two anorgasmic subgroups, and with functional controls, revealed highly significant differences, and provided strong evidence for at least two psychologically distinct subtypes of anorgasmia.